Read a full match report of the Euro 2012 Group C game between Croatia and
Spain at the Arena Gdansk, Gdansk, on Monday June 18, 2012.

The big guns are loading at Euro 2012. Spain have joined Germany and Portugal in a quarter-final line-up which now has a look of ominous familiarity, but it was far from the customary tiki-taka beauty in Gdansk.

The holders ambled into the quarter-final with a dour victory over Croatia.

This was an evening where Vicente Del Bosque’s side played the clock as much as their conservative opponent.

So often Del Bosque’s Spain have lifted the soul, but here they played with suffocating safety against an often perplexingly negative Croatia.

They triumphed thanks to an 87th-minute strike from Jesus Navas. Croatia’s gamble was to adopt a non-risk strategy, stifling the game in the hope the world champions would succumb to nerves or misfortune in the later stages.

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Pre-match fears of the high-scoring draw to take both nations into the last eight were sadly as far-fetched as they seemed.

The Italians complaining about match fixing is a bit like Vito Corleone expressing concern the New Jersey crew might start using guns.

Their stitch-up theory went as follows. Croatia and Spain would draw 2-2, rendering events in Poznan meaningless.

Such was the tedium on display in the opening stages in Gdansk, the only credible suspicion was the Croatians were intent on a self-destructive goalless draw.

They showed all the sense of adventure as a hermit on a siesta. Spain were lulled into meandering. They retained possession in first gear, wondering if the necessity to find second would ever be required.

That was also risky, giving the game a strange sense of precariousness where you knew a cliff hanger was coming, but there was an awful lot of unnecessary inactivity to endure before you got there. It felt like the footballing equivalent of an episode of ‘24’.

The initial danger, inevitably, came from Spain. David Silva fed Andres Iniesta in the box for a tame shot, and Fernando Torres fired from an improbable angle at Stipe Pletikosa, but Del Bosque could only see limbs being preserved. He needed more urgency - a timely reminder that qualification was uncertain.

The unstable nature of the group was clear when Croatia demanded a penalty on 27 minutes after a reckless lunge on Mario Mandzukic from Sergio Ramos.

Referee Wolgang Stark was correct to note Ramos had made contact with the ball first and Vedran Corluka’s protest earned him a yellow card, but it was the first sign that the world champions could not guarantee safety at the back.

Their lack of spark hinted a little of the arrogance we’d seen earlier in the competition. Playing no striker against Italy, for example, was pure egotism. Spain have often behaved like the most attractive girl in the club deciding she doesn’t need to make much of an effort to remind everyone how good looking she is.

Sometimes, even the most glamorous appearance needs a makeover to keep it looking tidy.

The second half began in the same pattern, only the flares and firecrackers in the Croatian end grabbing much attention (no doubt of Uefa’s draconian lawmakers, too).

The question was when Croatia would gamble, abandoning a system which hopelessly isolated sole striker Mandzukic.

In normal circumstances, a stalemate would be tolerated, but Bilic felt his greatest scalp was within his grasp. He thought the moment to shake-up the football world had arrived on 58 minutes.

Luka Modric crossed with the outside of his right foot and Ivan Rakitic’s close range header required an outstanding reflex save from Casillas.

Bilic finally made his move, surely pre-planned, on 65 minutes. He sent on Everton striker Nikica Jelavic and reverted to the attacking formation the game demanded.

The Croatia manager was either on the brink of being branded a tactical genius, or coach who had been smothered by fear.

Del Bosque’s retaliation, in comparison, seemed negative. He removed Torres and Silva, ending once again without a recognised striker.

Barcelona do this, say the apologists. Yes, but Lionel Messi is not Spanish.

The changes at least prompted action at both ends, with Casillas surprisingly called upon as much as Pletikosa.

Then substitute Navas had the last word. It was a suspiciously offside winner after Fabregas sent Iniesta clear and he generously gifted a tap-in to Nevas.